Garden umbrella



H. PEREIRA GARDEN UMBRELLA May 6, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 8, 1948 INVENTOR.

flumsaem Pam.

H. PEREIRA GARDEN UMBRELLA May 6, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 8, 1948 H. PEREIRA GARDEN UMBRELLA 4 heets-sheet 3 Filed June 8 1948 May 6, 1952 H. PEREIRA GARDEN UMBRELLA Filed June 8, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 m m m m flunaszro pens/4A.

Patented May 6, 1952 GARDEN UMBRELLA Humberto Pereira, Essex, Conn., assignor to The Finkel Umbrella Frame Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 8, 1948, Serial No. 31,615

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to garden umbrellas.

One object of the invention is a garden umbrella which may be raised and lowered, tilted at any desired angle and oriented into any position when so tilted, with a minimum of effort on the part of the user.

A further object of the invention is an umbrella of the character above indicated embodying novel and improved means for raising and tilting the umbrella.

A further object of the invention is a garden umbrella of the above indicated character which is further characterized by its simplicity in structure and in its raising or lifting, tilting and orienting means and by the economy with which it may be manufactured.

A further object of the invention is a novel and improved combination garden table and liftable and tiltable umbrella.

Further objects of the invention will hereinafter appear.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, wherein .Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of an umbrella mount and structure embodying the invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are diagrammatic views showing respectively the lifted and lowered positions of the umbrella of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view partly in section illustrating a part of the umbrella mount and the means for lifting, lowering and tilting the umbrella;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view disposed at right angles to the position illustrated in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a view taken along the lines 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a view partly in section of the upper part of theliftng and lowering mechanism corresponding but disposed at right angles to the position shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view along the line 8-8 of Fig. '7;

Fig. 9 is a view partly in section of a part of the mount showing another embodiment of the invention; I

Fig. 10 is a view at right angles thereto;

Fig. 11 is a part sectional View and part elevational view of a readily attachable and detachable means for lifting the umbrella of the embodiment of Figs. 9 and 10;

Fig. 12 is a View similar to Fig. 11 but disposed at right angles thereto;

'Figs. 13 and 14 are diagrammatic views illustr'ating the elevated and lowered positionsof 2 the embodiment of Figs. 9 and '10; and Fig. 15 is a sectional view along the line I5i5 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 16 is a plan view of the cover for the housing defined by the projections on the side of the frame shown in Fig. 15; and

Fig. 17 is a sectional view taken in a plane passing through line I'I-I'l of Fig. 16.

Referring to the drawings, I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention in Figs. 1 to 8. In Fig. 1 I have diagrammatically illustrated the mounting of the umbrella of my invention. It incdlu'des any conventional rib structure I having thereon any suitable covering 2. The umbrella frame comprises a vertical shaft 3 and an umbrella pole or mast 4 adjustably mounted upon the upper end of the shaft 3. The shaft 3 is swivelly mounted for rotation about its axis and in the particular embodiment shown it rests at its lower end in the socket of a base 5 and passes down through a guiding collar 5 carried by the radiating frame members I of a table 8, the legs of the table being indicated at 9. The umbrella stays are indicated at It) and are attached at their upper ends to the ribs I and at their lower ends to a collar ll slidably mounted on the umbrella stick or mast 4.

The umbrella is tiltable about the upper end of the shaft 3 'to any desired angle within limits and as indicated the shaft 3 is swivelly mounted for orienting the tilted umbrella to any position desired. The umbrella includes manually manipulated means for both tilting the umbrella and for raising and lowering the same and with a minimum effort by the user.

The umbrella pole or mast l is a metallic hollow tube. The shaft 3 may be either hollow or solid as may be desired. The means for tiltins and raising and lowering the umbrella is housed partly within the tubular mast 4. The shaft 3 carries on its upper end a segmental casting comprising an arcuate part I5 and radial parts I6, and side plates ll are suitably fastened to the opposite sides of the segmental frame I5, I6 as, for example, by means of bolts some of which are indicated at I 8. The hollow tubular mast 4 is pivotally mounted on a trunnion pin IJ journaled or mounted in openings formed near the upper ends of the side frame plates IT. The lower end of the tubular mast 4 stops short of the inner surface of the arcuate part I5 as indicated in the drawing, with the inner. surface of the arcuate part I5 forming a segmental cylindrical surface about the-trunnion pin I9: as an axis. Bearing frame portions 123 'and.:.2'l are formed in -the' radially extending...parts--itfi'of the casting and these bearing parts and 2| are provided with aligned openings for the reception of a rotating shaft 22, the latter being journaled in bearings 23 disposed in the openings of the bearing structures 20 and 2|. This shaft 22 is provided with a handle 24 for rotating the shaft. The hollow mast 4 is provided with opposed elongated slots 25 for the accommodation of the shaft 22.

The shaft 22 is provided with a screw thread 26 of any suitable design which passes through a transverse central opening similarly screw threaded in a cylindrical member 21 journaled in a guiding and mast actuating cylindrical block 28, the latter forming a close but easily slidable fit with the interior surface of the hollow mast 4. The cylindrical block 28 is formed on the opposite sides thereof with curved recesses 29, the widths of these recesses or slots being slightly greater than the diameter of the screw threaded shaft 22 and being in line with th slots 25 formed in the hollow mast 4. By this arrangement the cylindrical guide block 28 and the mast 4 may assume different angular positions with respect to the shaft 22. The ends 21 of the member 2'! stop short of the inner surfaces of the hollow mast 4 so as to permit relative movements of the members 21 and the mast 4. Fig. 5 shows in dotted lines one relative adjusted position of the mast 4 from the vertical position corresponding to one particular tilt of the umbrella. The casting l5, I6 is provided with a downwardly projecting attaching part 30 comprising a tapered recess 3| for attachment to the upper tapered end of the vertical shaft 3. The casting portions l6 stop short of the mast 4 as indicated at l6 for permitting relative movement of the mast 4 and the side frame plate I! about the axis of the trunnion pin l9.

Manually operated power means is also provided for raising the umbrella and, like the tilting mechanism, a part of the raising mechanism is contained within the hollow mast 4. This lifting means comprises a frame member designated generally by the numeral which is mounted on the hollow mast at a point just above the trunnion l9 and in close proximity to the tilting mechanism. This frame member 35 comprises a split collar 36 having one end formed into an arc shaped portion 36' conforming to the exterior of the mast 4. When the angular portions 31 of the split collar 36 are fastened together by a bolt or bolts 38, the are shaped portion 36 surrounds and grips the mast 4 while the angular portions 31 extend laterally beyond the mast.

A shaft 49 is journalecl in the frame 35, the shaft 40 in the particular embodiment shown just clearing the outer surface of the mast. A reel 4| is keyed to the shaft 40 and one end of a metallic tape 42 as, for example, of steel, is fastened to this reel 4| and is adapted to be wound thereabout for raising the umbrella and to be unwound therefrom or partially unwound therefrom upon the lowering of the umbrella. One side of the hollow mast 4 is recessed to permit the reel to project to a point within the hollow mast whereby the tape 42 passes upwardly through and within the mast. The shaft 43 is provided with an operating handle 43 for the manual raising of the umbrella. The upper part of the raising mechanism comprises a bracket 45 mounted on the mast 4 at a point above the uppermost position of the sliding collar or sleeve U. This bracketv comprises a split collar 48 generally similar to the collar .36 of the frame 35.

This fram 45 has mounted in the parts 46 thereof a shaft 41 and a roller 48 having flanges 48 is freely journaled on this shaft 41. The roller 48 projects through a recess formed in the side of the mast 4 so as to bring one side of the periphery of the main body of the roller within the mast 4, thereby permitting the metallic tape 42 to pass-freely over the roller 48 with the end of the steel tape extending down parallel to the mast and securely fastened to the sliding collar II as, for example, being clamped between the clamp members 49 and 50 by means of bolts 5| passing through openings in the tape and the clamps 49 and 50 which are screw threadedly attached to a base or block member 52 fastened as by welding to one side of the sleeve The split collar 46 is fastened together in any suitable manner as, for example, by the bolts 53 and is anchored to the pole or mast 4 in any suitable manner as, for example, by the pins 54 passing through the frame member 45 and openings in the mast. Similar pins 54 are provided for mounting the frame 35 to the mast 4.

The shaft 40 carrying the reel 4| not only projects through and beyond one of the members 36 for attachment to the manual operating member 43 but also extends through the other frame member 36 to carry a ratchet wheel 55, this ratchet wheel being keyed to the shaft. A pawl '56 is pivotally mounted at 51 on the side of the adjacent frame member 36 and this pawl engages the teeth on the ratchet wheel 55 to hold the umbrella in any position to which it has been raised. The pawl may be manually released to permit the lowering of the umbrella. The arm of the pawl 56 is indicated as having a hole 58 for the attachment of any manual operating means. such as a chain or cord, if desired, whereby for example, the user may stand out of the way of the umbrella and release th pawl to permit the automatic lowering of the umbrella from its lifted position to the lowered position indicated in Fig. 3, this automatic lowering being facilitated by the spring of the ribs and by gravity.

With an umbrella of the character set forth the umbrella may be raised, tilted and oriented by anyone, including children, with a minimum of effort and with complete freedom from injury. The mechanism as described is a simple one whereby all these three functions may thus be easily performed by any one. For raising or lifting the umbrella the user only needs to operate the handle 43 and with the power leverage indicated this may be easily accomplished. The umbrella may be raised to any desired height by simply operating the handle 43. The user may tilt the mast 4 to any desired angle within the limits provided by the radial portion "5 of the tilting mechanism housing unit. During the rotation of the handle 24 the cylindrical member 21 travels along the worm gear depending upon which direction the handle or shaft is rotated and the actuating cylindrical block 28 and the lower end of the mast 4 are thereby actuated to the position desired. This tilting operation may be effected before the raising of the umbrella or afterwards. The umbrella may be oriented to any position desired by simply rotating the mount 3 about the universal socket therebelow so that with the umbrella raised and tilted to any desired angle the umbrella may be oriented to the desired position, for example, as indicated by the dot and dash line in Fig. 1. All these adjustments may be easily made with the greatest facility as pointed out.

As with the preferred embodiment of Figs. 1 to 8, the umbrella of Figs. 9 to 14 embodies cooperating mechanisms permitting easy raising, tilting and orienting of the umbrella. In this embodiment the umbrella is mounted on a vertical swivel shaft 3 generally similar to the mounting of the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 8. The numeral 69 indicates generally the tilting mechanism and the lower part of the lifting or raising mechanism is indicated generally at 6| and is mounted just above the tilting mechanism. The tilting unit or mechanism comprises a casting 65 having a lower extension '39 for mounting upon the vertical swivelling shaft 3. One side of the casting 65 forms a part of the housing for the tilting mechanism and the other side of the housing comprises the plate 66 which is fastened to the other part of the housing in any suitable manner as, for example, by bolts 67. The casting 65 comprises end walls 65 against which are clamped the separate side plate 66 which completes the closure of the housing. The inner surfaces 61' of the end walls 65' of the housing are cylindrical in shape and a tilt head 68 is pivotally mounted in the housing on a pin 69, the latter having one end mounted in an opening of the plate 66 and its other end mounted in an opening in the opposite mating casting part. Tilt head 68 has a semi-cylindrical portion 19 having a cylindrical surface II corresponding to the cylindrical surfaces 61'. The tilt head also is providedwith a lower portion I2 which is generally of semicylindrical shape. The upper part of the tilt head is provided with an extension I3 within which is mounted the lower end of the hollow mast 4' of the umbrella, the latter having a tapered lower end fitting into a similarly shaped socket formed in, the extension 13. The tilt head 68 is provided with a central slot on its underside extending up to ;a point above the trunnion pin 69 and in this slot is disposed a segment of a worm gear I5. This segment is fastened to the tilt head in any suitable manner as, for'example, by means of pins I6 and is mounted upon the tilt head so as to have the worm gear teeth I5 of the gear concentric with the axis of the pin 69. In the particular embodiment shown the tilt head 68 is journaled upon the pin 69 through the medium of a bearing sleeve I1, the worm gear having an opening therethrough accommodating the bearing sleeve TI. The lower part of the casting 65 is provided with a recess 19 therein for the accommodation of a worm I9 meshing with the worm gear 15. This worm I9 is carried by a shaft 89 which is suitably journaled in the casting structure by means of bearing sleeves BI and 92. A manually operated handle 83 is suitably fastened to the outer projecting end of the shaft 69 for the manual tilting of the umbrella. By the construction and arrangement shown the tilt head is adjustable through an angle approximating 89, clearances being provided in the upper part of the casting structure 65 to permit this adjustment and shoulder stops 84 being provided on the interior of the casting 65 to engage the shoulders 85 formed on the tilt head for limiting the tilting angle.

The lifting mechanism and mount comprises a frame 6| suitably fastened or clamped to the hollow mast 4' and this frame comprises two members 9| extending outwardly laterally of the mast 4'. In these frame members is journaled a shaft 92 having keyed thereto a sprocket 93 with the latter held centrally between the frame members 9| by means of spacing sleeves 94, 94'. The sprocket projects through a slot 95 formed in the mast 4. In the particular em bodiment shown the frame 6| is formed into two parts with a bolt 96 fastening the two parts together on one side of the mast 4' and with bolts 91 fastening the two frame parts together on the other side.

The shaft 92 has a lock nut 98 secured to an overhanging end of the shaft with a washer 99 disposed on the inside. This nut carries a pair of locking pins I99 on the opposite sides for a purpose below described. This overhanging end of the shaft is provided with an enlarged end 92 having a slot I9I therein for the reception of an adjusting tool or instrument. The shaft 92 overhangs the frame on the other end and carries on the extension a ratchet wheel I93 keyed thereto. A pawl I 94 is pivotally fastened to the frame by means of a shoulder screw I95. One side of the frame is provided with a pair of projections I96 and I9! and a cover I99 fits over these projections I96 and I 91 and is suitably fastened thereto, as by snapping detents I98 into corresponding recesses in the projections I99 and I91. This cover houses the sprocket wheel I93 and is provided with a cut-away portion I99 for "accommodating the pawl I94. The pawl I94 is frame 6I.

similar to pawl 56 of Fig. 5.

A sprocket chain II9 passes around the sprocket wheel 93 and another sprocket wheel III journaled on a shaft III which is mounted in a frame member II2 generally similar to the This frame I I2 is mounted just above the uppermost position of the sliding collar II and may be mounted upon the hollow mast 4' in any suitable manner. The sprocket III is journaled in the frame II2 so as to have the periphery thereof on one side project to a point inside the mast a slot being provided in the side of the latter to permit this projection. Thus a part of the sprocket chain II9 extends through the hollow mast 4' and the other part is disposed on the outside thereof. The part disposed on the outside is fastened to the sliding sleeve II as indicated at I I3, the fastening being directed to a lug I I9 welded or otherwise suitably fastened to the sleeve II. Spacing sleeves 94 and 94' maintain the sprocket III in a central position.

By rotating the shaft 92 and its sprocket 93 the umbrella may be raised and lowered. I have illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12 a small actuating tool for application to the end 92 of the shaft for rotating the same. This comprises an elongated tubular casing I29 having an enlarged outer end I 2| for grasping by the hand during locking, the latter being knurled on its outside as indicated at I22. A spindle or crank shaft I23 is journaled in the outer end of the shaft part I2I by means of a bearing I24 and a bushing I25 is indicated for centering the spindle I23 in the tube. The bearings I24 and I25 are fastened by means of the punch indents I26 and I27. The spindle I23 is provided with a flattened end I23 for entering the slot I9I in the end of the shaft 92 and thereby coupling the spindle I23 with the shaft 32. The tube I29 extends beyond the end of the shaft or spindle I 23 and is adapted to slip easily over the lock nut 99. The inner end of ,the tube I29 is provided with T slots I28 disposed at 189 from each other which are adapted to accommodate the pins I whereby the tool may be locked to the shaft 92 during lifting operation. The spindle I23 projects beyond the tube and carries a handle I29 and the end of the spindle I23 carries a crank arm I30 having a knob I3I fastened to the outer end thereof.

For raising the umbrella the operator inserts the tube I20 over the lock nut 98 with the pins I00 entering the T slots I28 and by rotating the tube I2I to bring the pins into the circumferential slots and at the same time coupling the spindle I23 with the shaft 92 the umbrella may be raised by rotating the spindle I23. In the particular embodiment shown the frame Si is locked to the mast 4 by means of pins or projections I32. The umbrella may be lowered by releasing the pawl I04 to permit lowering by gravity, assisted if desired by the hand tool I20.

At I35 I have illustrated a cover suitably fastened to one of the frame members 36 (Fig. 6) for housing the sprocket 55 and the pawl 50.

Thus both embodiments of the invention coniprise a miniature housing for the umbrella tilting mechanism which is mounted upon a swivel support with the hollow umbrella mast or pole being pivotally mounted upon the housing and carrying a lifting or raising mechanism immediately above the housing and the invention is further characterized by the simple and effective operating and controlling structures above described and shown in the drawings.

I claim:

1. In an umbrella, a hollow mast, a collar slidably mounted on said mast to which collar the stays of the umbrella are secured, movement of the collar in an upward direction effecting raising of the umbrella and in a downward direction effecting lowering of the umbrella, a frame on said mast, a manually operated shaft journaled in said frame, a reel keyed to said shaft and extending through a slot formed in the mast, a guide roller on said hollow mast with its periphery projecting through a slot in the hollow mast, said guide roller being disposed at a point just above the uppermost position to which the collar .4.-

is moved to raise the umbrella, and a tape having one end fastened to said reel and windable and unwindable thereabout, passing upwardly within the mast over the guide roller and having its other end fastened to said collar.

2. In an umbrella, a hollow mast, a collar slidably mounted on said mast, to which collar the stays of the umbrella are secured, movement of the collar in an upward direction effecting raising of the umbrella and in a downward direction effecting lowering of the umbrella, a frame surrounding said mast and anchored thereto, said frame having a laterally projecting portion, a manually operated shaft journaled in said laterally projecting portion, a reel keyed to said shaft and extending through a slot formed in the mast, a second frame surrounding said mast and anchored thereto, said second frame having a laterally projecting portion, a guide roller journaled in said laterally projecting portion of said second frame and projecting through a slot formed in the mast, and a tape having one end fastened to said reel and windable and unwindable thereabout, passing upwardly Within the mast over the guide roller and fastened at its other end to said collar.

HUMBERTO PEREIRA.

REFERENCES CITE-D The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 32,861 Davis July 23, 1861 465,084 Kaufert Dec. 15, 1891 645,704 Downs Mar. 20, 1900 892,698 Whinnery July 7, 1908 2,183,833 Farhar Dec. 19, 1939 2,224,882 Peck Dec. 17, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 30,410 Sweden Mar. 4, 1911 50,718 Austria Nov. 10, 1911 54,578 Switzerland Nov. 21, 1910 128,258 Austria May 25, 1932 

